((A/n: I have no idea where I'm going to take this story. The first chapter came from a spur of sentimental and somewhat depressive feelings. But since you liked it, and I left things rather vague, I think I will continue. My writer's block for Darkness Before the Dawn is still in effect, other than I know who is possessing Adriane to go after Kara. I still warn you, though. This story has no plot. It is a mere collection of ideas that I could tie into one another.
Disclaimer: They are not mine. But if you have the power to give them to me... *worship*))
Love is a Full-Blown War
A short story
The porch was slippery and treacherous, but Emily had done this many times before. One could not live in the northeast unless they knew how to deal with the snow, along with the tricky ice that immediatly formed in your way. The woman shivered as the December breeze bit right through her tights, making goosebumps prickle up along her legs as she walked down the quiet neighborhood, her eyes on the rather small, two-story house that was second to last on the lane. It had been a gift to her family from the city council members, awarded to her for such oustanding effort and volunteer work and overall love she gave to the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve.
But Ravenswood was closed now. It had been for many years. It was old and rusty and abandoned, and it had been sheer luck they hadn't bulldozed it down. Ravenswood is what put Stonehill on the map, Emily thought, glancing down at the frosty tips of the stubborn grass that still grew in these yards. Ravenswood is what made this town prosper. And now it was gone. Closed away from the world.
Often, she had wondered why they had insisted on closing the entire park. There was still plenty to see without the main attractions, like Ariel and Lyra. After Adriane's great-grandmother had died, though, it seemed as if they had no choice but to shut it down. Not for lack of people to run it. Emily herself had volunteered to take over running the tourist site. But the idea had been vetoed, and so the mystical place had been shut down. Nobody lived there anymore, except the squirrels and rats and birds who had made their homes there for generations.
No, once Aldenmor had been sealed off from Earth and the portals that connected the two worlds closed eternally or rerouted to someplace else that needed the magic, Ravenswood folded up.
Emily sighed, pausing at the walk up to her own house. She'd managed to hold on to it after her mother had died, and pay the rent along with the electricity and water bills every month. She thought this was pretty impressive, seeing as she was only nineteen, but at the same time independent enough to do that. She lifted her head to take in the sight of what was rightfully hers now, glowing orange against the sunset. She chuckled, remembering the arguement she'd had with her housemate over what color they were going to paint the outside. She'd wanted something that wouldn't attract very much attention, but he wanted it to be loud and happy, and all the colors of the rainbow. They had decided to leave it the way it was, a pale pumpkin orange.
The redheaded woman walked up the path, stopping again as she came to the porch. It had a suspicious gleam to it that warned her she should be careful. But again, she knew how to handle it. Doing her dance up the porch and succeeding without slipping, Emily dug around in the pocket of her autumn jacket for her keys. Even though it was already winter, she had nothing heavier than a windbreaker. She hoped she would be getting a better coat for Christmas, but she wasn't counting on it.
Finding the keys, she unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting both the physical warm and the emotional warm spread over her body as she entered her house and shut the door behind her, listening to the frustrated howl of the wind as it slammed into the barrier between her and it. She smiled to herself, shrugging off her jacket and purse and hanging them up on the hook next to the door. The air was tinged with the unbearably fresh smell of sausage, cheese and tomato sauce, and she heard the faint drone of the TV going upstairs.
Filling her lungs, she shouted one of her favorite phrases of all time, "I'm home!"
A sharp clanging noise came from the kitchen, accompanied the crash of a chair tipping over. Emily smiled at the immediate reply, "Do you have company?" It always returned her shout, reguardless of where she had come home from. She was famous for taking in strays, or somebody that needed a home for a night, or someplace to stay while they got back on their feet and could rent an apartment.
"Not tonight, love," she answered, walking down the hall and into the kitchen. As she had thought, there were two medium pan pizzas open on the counter, and a stool lay carelessly tossed across the lineolium. She chuckled. "You're safe."
A head popped up, a mop of untamed rusty brown hair framing a sheepishly grinning face. It was not often that that that face wasn't stretched into a grin of some sort. Immediatly, Emily felt better, just seeing that vaguely childish but always optimistic expression. He was such a goof sometimes, but she really loved him.
He stood, pulling the fallen stool with him, then in a spurt of chilvary, offered it to her. Emily laughed a little and propped herself up on it, pulling a box of pizza towards her and grabbing a slice, not even bothering to fish out a paper plate or at least a napkin. "You know, if you keep doing this, we're going to go bankrupt."
"I thought you were a waitress," he countered, leaning on the stool next to hers and resting his chin on his knuckles, holding a beanie in one hand. "Why do you always come home so hungry?"
She looked up at him as she sunk her perfectly white teeth into the pizza, one hand automatically coming up to catch the dribble of oil that trickled out of the cheese as she did so. She chewed slowly, not answering his question as she watched him place the beanie back where he had madly grabbed for it. They had several head-covers like it lying around the house, carefully tucked away so they weren't always in the way, but in grabbing distance. In case she had brought company home.
Her eyes trailed from his hands, smooth and delicate, up to the sides of his head, from which spiraled his ears, falling back to a sharp tip. They were too long for him to hide in his hair, so he had all sorts of hats to hide them under. Emily knew how much her Elf housemate hating hiding his ears, and how uncomfortable wearing head-covers made him. But she also knew that he knew what it took to be able to live a normal Earthen live.... with her. She had always felt kind of guilty for drawing him away from his world and his rightful people, but he'd often told her it didn't matter. He loved her more than anything Aldenmor could have given him. Besides, what was a place in Farthingdale compared to pizza?
"I was about to apologize for being late," she said, after she swallowed.
He looked up at her, his mahogany eyes soft. "Working overtime again?"
She nodded, a her lips peeling back into a grin. "Somebody's gotta pay for this," she said, gesturing to the pizza.
He laughed good-naturedly, moving over and wrapping his arms around her waist, tugging her down from the stool. "Leave it," he told her as she twisted her arm around at an odd angle to avoid getting pizza sauce on him. She snatched a napkin and abandoned her half-finished slice of pizza to it, very aware that while she did that, his breath was warm against the chilled skin of her neck.
He pulled her away from the kitchen altogether and into the living room. She protested as the two of them fell into a tangled heap on the couch, "But I was still hungry! The pizza's going to get cold."
He chuckled, his arms tightening around her, having moved from her waist to right below her breasts. "I thought that was what microwaves were supposed to be for."
Very self-conscious by this point, she asked him suspiciously, "Are you hitting on me?"
The Elf chuckled again, "Perhaps later. Like after you change out of that ridiculous outfit."
"Well, excuse me. It's not like I have a choice of uniform." Emily glanced down at herself, again aware of his legs twined with hers and his arms still around her. She had on a very tacky plaid skirt over a pair of worn black tights, completed with a crisp white blouce underneath a red wine blazer. It wasn't the most flattering outfit Emily had ever worn, especially since the blazer clashed rather unpleasantly with her auburn hair.
"Why did you have to become a waitress?" he murmured, his lips moving against her neck. "You could have been something so much better, like a vet or even a doctor. Something that pays better and makes you happy."
"I am a healer, love," she answered, just as quietly. "I still heal. Just because it doesn't pay doesn't mean it isn't what I want to do with my life. Besides, I like waitressing."
They'd talked about this many times before. "Why?"
The answer was always the same. "Because I rest assured that no matter what happens, no matter how many wars we'll have, or whether the existance of magic is discovered world-wide, the earth will always have a need for good strong dependable waitresses who can balance five platters of hot food on her arm and juggle seventeen orders in her head and smile even when things aren't going well."
He never had anything more to argue with. They lay there in silent companionship for a while longer, with him resting his cheek against her smooth red hair and her leaning back into his solid warmth.
Finally, she said, "I miss them."
"Who?"
"Them... them all, really. Ariel, Balthazar, Ronif and Rasha, those crazy d'flies, Phel. And Lorelei. I definitely miss Lorelei. And her precious Unicorn Academy. Oh, they were so cute..." Her voice caught on the word cute, and it came out a half-strangled sob. She turned a little in his arms, her fingers clutching the fabric of his out-of-fashion shirt against the force of her sorrow. He said nothing, gently stroking her hair, and then just simply holding her when her body shuddered with sobs. Her rainbow jewel, its cord whethered from the years, flashed, and was returned by the stone that hung around his neck.
"But I miss Adriane and Kara the most. Why did they have to be torn from me! What did I do to deserve this?!"
The Elf slid his slender fingers under her chin, tipping her head up so he could wipe her hot tears away with a simple stroke of his thumbs, her cheeks cupped in his palms. "I know, Emily. I miss them just as much. But Adriane chose to remain behind. She believed she belonged more to Aldenmor and the magic than she did to anything Earth could give her. It was her idea to cut Aldenmor away from Earth in the first place. You saved both Earth and Aldenmor by doing that."
"How do you know? How do you know that Aldenmor isn't a big charred ember floating out there in space?"
"Because even if she had won the war, the Dark Socceress wouldn't do that to her kingdom. Even if she could secure all the magic in Avalon, she still needs subjects to force into submission. She wouldn't destroy Avalon."
"You're so cheerful," she sniffled, managing a little smile.
He smiled back. "I know."
They were quiet for a little while longer, before Emily whispered, "But what about Kara? I don't think staying in Aldenmor was what she had planned. She had so much to live for here. Pretty, blonde, popular. She had it all going for her. Then, wham! A chance at a normal life is completely destroyed, and she had no choice but to stay on Aldenmor."
He sighed. "That may be true, but you know Kara. She'll sulk around and feel sorry for herself for about a month, then she'll bounce back with terrific force and take utter charge of everything. She'll overwork herself for another month, then have a mental breakdown. And that's when she'll find her true center for who she is. She's fine, wherever she is. Besides, they need her on Aldenmor. She is the blazing mage. She's already saved their hineys without blinking twice before."
Emily's grip relaxed, and she glanced up at him again. He smiled down at her, tilting his head a little in order to kiss her tenderly. Emily felt her sorrow drain away. She may have lost so much of what was precious to her -- all the animals, Ravenswood, Adriane and Kara, her smart, funny, beautiful mother, Carolyn. But she still had one very important key to her heart. Him.
"I love you, Ozzie," she told him when they broke apart.
His eyes softened, and with a soft kiss to her forehead, he replied, "I love you too, Emily. Now and forever."
Again, they rested in silence, two long, grown figures twined together in a bond more deeper than anything magic had accomplished before. Then Ozzie kissed the top of her head and said, "Now, why don't you go and change, and I'll go reheat your pizza."
She chuckled. "I don't think so, Fluffy. I don't trust you with the microwave. You put the rest of the pizza in the fridge. I moved the Ziplocs. They're under the sink now."
Ozzie heaved a dramatic sigh. "Yes, O Mage. I am but your lowly servant..."
She reached around his lean figure to snatch a pillow and whap him with it. "You little--!"
He silenced her with a searing kiss, one hand curled around the back of her neck to keep her from moving her head. The pillow dropped, neglected, from her grip, and her eyes fluttered closed.
They didn't move for a while.
((There you go ^_^ Longer than the last one and not quite so vague. I truly don't know where it came from... Ozzie and Emily? Did I hit my head too hard on the hearth while getting my Christmas stocking or something? X_X
Anyway, hope you like. *crosses fingers and hopes against hope*
Ja ne! Until next chapter! I think in the next chapter I'll actually answer some questions about what happened to Zach . I feel really bad about not doing that this chapter, but I needed to do something Earthen. Please forgive me!
Or, better yet, review!))
Disclaimer: They are not mine. But if you have the power to give them to me... *worship*))
Love is a Full-Blown War
A short story
The porch was slippery and treacherous, but Emily had done this many times before. One could not live in the northeast unless they knew how to deal with the snow, along with the tricky ice that immediatly formed in your way. The woman shivered as the December breeze bit right through her tights, making goosebumps prickle up along her legs as she walked down the quiet neighborhood, her eyes on the rather small, two-story house that was second to last on the lane. It had been a gift to her family from the city council members, awarded to her for such oustanding effort and volunteer work and overall love she gave to the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve.
But Ravenswood was closed now. It had been for many years. It was old and rusty and abandoned, and it had been sheer luck they hadn't bulldozed it down. Ravenswood is what put Stonehill on the map, Emily thought, glancing down at the frosty tips of the stubborn grass that still grew in these yards. Ravenswood is what made this town prosper. And now it was gone. Closed away from the world.
Often, she had wondered why they had insisted on closing the entire park. There was still plenty to see without the main attractions, like Ariel and Lyra. After Adriane's great-grandmother had died, though, it seemed as if they had no choice but to shut it down. Not for lack of people to run it. Emily herself had volunteered to take over running the tourist site. But the idea had been vetoed, and so the mystical place had been shut down. Nobody lived there anymore, except the squirrels and rats and birds who had made their homes there for generations.
No, once Aldenmor had been sealed off from Earth and the portals that connected the two worlds closed eternally or rerouted to someplace else that needed the magic, Ravenswood folded up.
Emily sighed, pausing at the walk up to her own house. She'd managed to hold on to it after her mother had died, and pay the rent along with the electricity and water bills every month. She thought this was pretty impressive, seeing as she was only nineteen, but at the same time independent enough to do that. She lifted her head to take in the sight of what was rightfully hers now, glowing orange against the sunset. She chuckled, remembering the arguement she'd had with her housemate over what color they were going to paint the outside. She'd wanted something that wouldn't attract very much attention, but he wanted it to be loud and happy, and all the colors of the rainbow. They had decided to leave it the way it was, a pale pumpkin orange.
The redheaded woman walked up the path, stopping again as she came to the porch. It had a suspicious gleam to it that warned her she should be careful. But again, she knew how to handle it. Doing her dance up the porch and succeeding without slipping, Emily dug around in the pocket of her autumn jacket for her keys. Even though it was already winter, she had nothing heavier than a windbreaker. She hoped she would be getting a better coat for Christmas, but she wasn't counting on it.
Finding the keys, she unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting both the physical warm and the emotional warm spread over her body as she entered her house and shut the door behind her, listening to the frustrated howl of the wind as it slammed into the barrier between her and it. She smiled to herself, shrugging off her jacket and purse and hanging them up on the hook next to the door. The air was tinged with the unbearably fresh smell of sausage, cheese and tomato sauce, and she heard the faint drone of the TV going upstairs.
Filling her lungs, she shouted one of her favorite phrases of all time, "I'm home!"
A sharp clanging noise came from the kitchen, accompanied the crash of a chair tipping over. Emily smiled at the immediate reply, "Do you have company?" It always returned her shout, reguardless of where she had come home from. She was famous for taking in strays, or somebody that needed a home for a night, or someplace to stay while they got back on their feet and could rent an apartment.
"Not tonight, love," she answered, walking down the hall and into the kitchen. As she had thought, there were two medium pan pizzas open on the counter, and a stool lay carelessly tossed across the lineolium. She chuckled. "You're safe."
A head popped up, a mop of untamed rusty brown hair framing a sheepishly grinning face. It was not often that that that face wasn't stretched into a grin of some sort. Immediatly, Emily felt better, just seeing that vaguely childish but always optimistic expression. He was such a goof sometimes, but she really loved him.
He stood, pulling the fallen stool with him, then in a spurt of chilvary, offered it to her. Emily laughed a little and propped herself up on it, pulling a box of pizza towards her and grabbing a slice, not even bothering to fish out a paper plate or at least a napkin. "You know, if you keep doing this, we're going to go bankrupt."
"I thought you were a waitress," he countered, leaning on the stool next to hers and resting his chin on his knuckles, holding a beanie in one hand. "Why do you always come home so hungry?"
She looked up at him as she sunk her perfectly white teeth into the pizza, one hand automatically coming up to catch the dribble of oil that trickled out of the cheese as she did so. She chewed slowly, not answering his question as she watched him place the beanie back where he had madly grabbed for it. They had several head-covers like it lying around the house, carefully tucked away so they weren't always in the way, but in grabbing distance. In case she had brought company home.
Her eyes trailed from his hands, smooth and delicate, up to the sides of his head, from which spiraled his ears, falling back to a sharp tip. They were too long for him to hide in his hair, so he had all sorts of hats to hide them under. Emily knew how much her Elf housemate hating hiding his ears, and how uncomfortable wearing head-covers made him. But she also knew that he knew what it took to be able to live a normal Earthen live.... with her. She had always felt kind of guilty for drawing him away from his world and his rightful people, but he'd often told her it didn't matter. He loved her more than anything Aldenmor could have given him. Besides, what was a place in Farthingdale compared to pizza?
"I was about to apologize for being late," she said, after she swallowed.
He looked up at her, his mahogany eyes soft. "Working overtime again?"
She nodded, a her lips peeling back into a grin. "Somebody's gotta pay for this," she said, gesturing to the pizza.
He laughed good-naturedly, moving over and wrapping his arms around her waist, tugging her down from the stool. "Leave it," he told her as she twisted her arm around at an odd angle to avoid getting pizza sauce on him. She snatched a napkin and abandoned her half-finished slice of pizza to it, very aware that while she did that, his breath was warm against the chilled skin of her neck.
He pulled her away from the kitchen altogether and into the living room. She protested as the two of them fell into a tangled heap on the couch, "But I was still hungry! The pizza's going to get cold."
He chuckled, his arms tightening around her, having moved from her waist to right below her breasts. "I thought that was what microwaves were supposed to be for."
Very self-conscious by this point, she asked him suspiciously, "Are you hitting on me?"
The Elf chuckled again, "Perhaps later. Like after you change out of that ridiculous outfit."
"Well, excuse me. It's not like I have a choice of uniform." Emily glanced down at herself, again aware of his legs twined with hers and his arms still around her. She had on a very tacky plaid skirt over a pair of worn black tights, completed with a crisp white blouce underneath a red wine blazer. It wasn't the most flattering outfit Emily had ever worn, especially since the blazer clashed rather unpleasantly with her auburn hair.
"Why did you have to become a waitress?" he murmured, his lips moving against her neck. "You could have been something so much better, like a vet or even a doctor. Something that pays better and makes you happy."
"I am a healer, love," she answered, just as quietly. "I still heal. Just because it doesn't pay doesn't mean it isn't what I want to do with my life. Besides, I like waitressing."
They'd talked about this many times before. "Why?"
The answer was always the same. "Because I rest assured that no matter what happens, no matter how many wars we'll have, or whether the existance of magic is discovered world-wide, the earth will always have a need for good strong dependable waitresses who can balance five platters of hot food on her arm and juggle seventeen orders in her head and smile even when things aren't going well."
He never had anything more to argue with. They lay there in silent companionship for a while longer, with him resting his cheek against her smooth red hair and her leaning back into his solid warmth.
Finally, she said, "I miss them."
"Who?"
"Them... them all, really. Ariel, Balthazar, Ronif and Rasha, those crazy d'flies, Phel. And Lorelei. I definitely miss Lorelei. And her precious Unicorn Academy. Oh, they were so cute..." Her voice caught on the word cute, and it came out a half-strangled sob. She turned a little in his arms, her fingers clutching the fabric of his out-of-fashion shirt against the force of her sorrow. He said nothing, gently stroking her hair, and then just simply holding her when her body shuddered with sobs. Her rainbow jewel, its cord whethered from the years, flashed, and was returned by the stone that hung around his neck.
"But I miss Adriane and Kara the most. Why did they have to be torn from me! What did I do to deserve this?!"
The Elf slid his slender fingers under her chin, tipping her head up so he could wipe her hot tears away with a simple stroke of his thumbs, her cheeks cupped in his palms. "I know, Emily. I miss them just as much. But Adriane chose to remain behind. She believed she belonged more to Aldenmor and the magic than she did to anything Earth could give her. It was her idea to cut Aldenmor away from Earth in the first place. You saved both Earth and Aldenmor by doing that."
"How do you know? How do you know that Aldenmor isn't a big charred ember floating out there in space?"
"Because even if she had won the war, the Dark Socceress wouldn't do that to her kingdom. Even if she could secure all the magic in Avalon, she still needs subjects to force into submission. She wouldn't destroy Avalon."
"You're so cheerful," she sniffled, managing a little smile.
He smiled back. "I know."
They were quiet for a little while longer, before Emily whispered, "But what about Kara? I don't think staying in Aldenmor was what she had planned. She had so much to live for here. Pretty, blonde, popular. She had it all going for her. Then, wham! A chance at a normal life is completely destroyed, and she had no choice but to stay on Aldenmor."
He sighed. "That may be true, but you know Kara. She'll sulk around and feel sorry for herself for about a month, then she'll bounce back with terrific force and take utter charge of everything. She'll overwork herself for another month, then have a mental breakdown. And that's when she'll find her true center for who she is. She's fine, wherever she is. Besides, they need her on Aldenmor. She is the blazing mage. She's already saved their hineys without blinking twice before."
Emily's grip relaxed, and she glanced up at him again. He smiled down at her, tilting his head a little in order to kiss her tenderly. Emily felt her sorrow drain away. She may have lost so much of what was precious to her -- all the animals, Ravenswood, Adriane and Kara, her smart, funny, beautiful mother, Carolyn. But she still had one very important key to her heart. Him.
"I love you, Ozzie," she told him when they broke apart.
His eyes softened, and with a soft kiss to her forehead, he replied, "I love you too, Emily. Now and forever."
Again, they rested in silence, two long, grown figures twined together in a bond more deeper than anything magic had accomplished before. Then Ozzie kissed the top of her head and said, "Now, why don't you go and change, and I'll go reheat your pizza."
She chuckled. "I don't think so, Fluffy. I don't trust you with the microwave. You put the rest of the pizza in the fridge. I moved the Ziplocs. They're under the sink now."
Ozzie heaved a dramatic sigh. "Yes, O Mage. I am but your lowly servant..."
She reached around his lean figure to snatch a pillow and whap him with it. "You little--!"
He silenced her with a searing kiss, one hand curled around the back of her neck to keep her from moving her head. The pillow dropped, neglected, from her grip, and her eyes fluttered closed.
They didn't move for a while.
((There you go ^_^ Longer than the last one and not quite so vague. I truly don't know where it came from... Ozzie and Emily? Did I hit my head too hard on the hearth while getting my Christmas stocking or something? X_X
Anyway, hope you like. *crosses fingers and hopes against hope*
Ja ne! Until next chapter! I think in the next chapter I'll actually answer some questions about what happened to Zach . I feel really bad about not doing that this chapter, but I needed to do something Earthen. Please forgive me!
Or, better yet, review!))